CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 99 
the Anderson River. Turner, Nelson and Murdoch say that this 
isa common duck from the mouth of the Mackenzie westward 
all around the whole coast of Alaska. It winters along the 
entire Aleutian chain and down the Pacific coast of British Col- 
umbia, where Fannin says it is frequent in winter. 
BREEDING Nortes.— This bird is a sea-duck, breeding northerly. 
A clutch of seven eggs in my collection was taken at the mouth 
of Mackenzie River June 20th, 1894. The nest was built on the 
ground under a small willow. (Razne. 
From the Yukon Delta along the coast, in each direction, their 
nests are almost invariably placed in close proximity to a pond 
or tide-creek—the sloping grassy bank of the ponds being a 
favorite situation. The earliest set of eggs secured by me num- 
bered five and was taken on May 18th at St. Michael. From 
that date until the end of June fresh eggs may be taken, but the 
majority of the young are out by the last of that month. The 
parents always keep in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest 
and swim about in the nearest pond when the nest is approached. 
An unusual amount of dry grass-stems, and down plucked from 
the parent’s breast, compose the nest, and if the eggs are left they 
are carefully hidden in the loose material. (/Ve/son.) During the 
breeding season, at Point Barrow, each pair seems to adopt a 
pool of its own, and drives out all intruders. They breed in con- 
siderable numbers all over the tundra, but the nests are scattered 
and not easy to find. The nest is always lined with down 
and generally near a pool. (MWurdoch.) This species breeds in 
great numbers in the neighbourhood of Fort Anderson, along the 
Anderson River, on the Barren Grounds and the shores of the 
Arctic Sea. Considerably over one hundred nests were taken, 
and the eggs varied from five to seven, the latter being the 
maximum number recorded in any one instance. In its make the 
nest is very similar to that of Dafila acuta. From personal ob- 
servation, also, I have come to the conclusion that the usual 
quantity of down taken from the duck’s breast depends on the 
number of eggs in the set. (Macfarlane.) Several pairs breed 
each year on St. Paul Island, Behring Sea. One nest was found 
in 1897 beside a path leading to a well which was visited many 
times during the day. The female seldom left the nest when 
people passed along the path ; indeed, no one else knew of the 
nest when I took five eggs from it. Unless the bird were looked 
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